Many commodities fluctuate in price on a regular basis. The volatility of these fluctuations depends heavily on a variety of factors, including supply and demand, or variables associated with the supply and demand. Disruptions in the supply of these commodities such as those caused by world events, natural disasters, etc. may cause their price to change markedly in a relatively short amount of time. These price changes can be quite noticeable, as commodities tend to be extensively consumed and fluctuations in the price of such commodities may occur relatively rapidly.
The severity of the effects of these commodity price changes may be tied directly to the amount consumed. Take gasoline as an example. While individual consumers are certainly affected by spikes in gasoline prices, these effects may be even more pronounced with regard to large purchasers of gasoline. More specifically, large purchasers such as businesses which rely on a fleet of vehicles to conduct their day-to-day operations may be severely financially strained by an increase in the price of gasoline. Thus, relatively frequent fluctuations in price can make anticipating future expenses for a commodity very difficult, creating budgeting and accounting issues for large purchasers of the commodity.
There are currently a variety of schemes through which commodities can be purchased. In the case of motor fuel, one example scheme is a fuel card. A consumer may purchase a fuel card that carries a certain monetary value. Whenever the fuel card is used to purchase motor fuel at a retail point-of-sale location, the purchase price is subtracted from the value of the fuel card. With a fuel card, the consumer may still pay at the retail price for the motor fuel. Thus, this motor fuel purchasing scheme does not necessarily protect the consumer from adverse price fluctuations.
Some purchasing schemes have been introduced in certain industry segments in an effort to address this issue. For example, there are certain schemes which allow a consumer to purchase a good or service and take later delivery, in whole or in part, such as purchasing a quantity of motor fuel which is physically deposited in a storage tank for future at will consumption. The physical product itself has to be ordered and deposited into a storage facility, which has a limited capacity.
Other schemes have been introduced whereby an individual consumer or a business consumer such as a fleet manager may purchase a quantity of motor fuel at the then prevailing retail price such that an account associated with the consumer is credited with the amount purchased. At this point, the motor fuel has not actually been delivered but a quantity is held on reserve that can be redeemed in part or in whole at a variety of locations. However, the consumer has to pay for the entire amount in advance and is committed to the quantity of the motor fuel thus pre-purchased.